The Vector Analyzing Power in Elastic Electron-Nucleus Scattering

Abstract

The vector analyzing power A_n is calculated for elastic electron scattering from a variety of spin zero nuclei at energies from 14 MeV to 3 GeV. Time reversal symmetry insures that A_n vanish in first Born approximation. Therefore A_n depends on Coulomb distortions and can be large for scattering from heavy nuclei. The vector analyzing power is a potential source of systematic error for parity violation experiments. We find that A_n=-0.361 ppm for the kinematics of the Parity Radius Experiment (PREX) involving 850 MeV electrons scattering at six degrees from 208Pb. This is comparable to the parity violating asymmetry. However for HAPPEX He involving 3 GeV electrons scattering on 4He we find that A_n is very small.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.